Latinas: Juntas en Comunidad is growing

4/18/17

The ten women who were part of this winter’s Latinas Juntas en Comunidad are committed to giving back to their community. They have chosen to host and guide a Family Preparedness workshop during the monthly Conversación Comunitaria on April 18, 2017 at 6:30 PM at the McMinnville Public Library.

The Latinas Juntas program began in the fall of 2016. The 6-8 weekly sessions assists immigrant women with integration and civic participation in the communities of Yamhill County. With increased knowledge and the development of leadership and advocacy skills, the women are challenged to share their skills to others and to play a more active role in the larger Yamhill County communities in which they raise their children and grandchildren.

During the second series of Latina Juntas sessions which began in February, we collaborated with Head Start Yamhill County and met in their McMinnville facility. This cohort included women from the first series who wanted to continue learning and were also eager to provide support for the new attendees. This group began by sharing experiences and discussing topics that they felt were important to the Latino community, their families, and themselves. The sessions included concerns about immigration, the roles of local and state government, bullying in schools, and educational such as GED, ESL and computer classes, and family preparedness for emergencies.

Most of the women in the recent cohort are part of families where members are of mixed legal status (citizens, legal permanent residents, and immigrants without documents.) Because of recent changes in immigration enforcement, the topic of family preparedness was addressed in nearly every workshop. The women in the cohort were determined to become experts about the resources available to help families. Their hope is to be able to share their knowledge about family preparedness with the larger community so that families can protect their children in times of emergencies such as deportation and detention.